Lilly McElroy at Thomas Robertello Gallery

Published in Time Out Chicago / Issue 307 : Jan 13–19, 2011

The year 2009 can’t be characterized by a single catastrophic event, such as the ’08 market crash or the BP oil spill of 2010, but according to Lilly McElroy and hundreds of others, it was a rough year all the same. While the Brooklyn-based artist doesn’t explain why 2009 was so awful for her, she invites the public to contribute their stories and images of the year to an intriguing collective grievance-raising project.

Projected on the gallery wall, these include descriptions of pets lost or put down, people getting dumped or dying, foreclosures and other financial hardships—requests for food stamps that were denied, holey underwear that couldn’t be replaced. Some images have no explanations, leaving viewers to interpret what was so horrible about an empty, snow-covered driveway or passengers wandering through an airport terminal.

The work’s installation comes off as disjointed. A stained-glass window proclaiming the title (pictured) hangs from the ceiling, making the exhibition space feel cramped. McElroy attempts to enhance the confessional atmosphere by channeling church and, oddly, comedy clubs: A screen shows video clips of the artist performing awkward stand-up at various New York venues. As her comedian character perseveres onstage, her optimism hardly balances the heaviness of McElroy’s public submissions, which are easier to view at aroughyear.com. The heart of the show is McElroy’s reassurance that the strangers who became her collaborators aren’t alone: Though our tragedies are individual, 2009 was a wash for everyone.